(RALEIGH, NC) - Widely considered one of the world’s all time greatest guitarists and known amongst his peers as a great collaborator, Eric Clapton announced today a major U.S. tour culminating in his fourth Crossroads Guitar Festival Presented by Chase. Clapton and his band will visit more than a dozen cities across the U.S. including a stop in Raleigh at Lenovo Center April 3, 2013.

Tickets for Lenovo Center go on sale Friday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. at the Lenovo Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, Charge by Phone 800-745-3000 and online at Ticketmaster.com.

Clapton has assembled an impressive band for the 2013 U.S. dates which will consist of long-time touring partners: Doyle Bramhall II (guitar), Steve Jordan (drums), Chris Stainton (piano and keyboards), and Willie Weeks (bass), along with newcomers Paul Carrack (organ and keyboards) and Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar). Michelle John and Sharon White will join the touring band again as backing vocalists. The tour will also feature special guests, The Wallflowers.

The tour will end with the two-night Festival where Clapton will gather the past, present and future of guitar music onto one stage for an unparalleled musical event. The Festival, which has become legendary in its own right for hosting performances and impromptu collaborations from the world’s most legendary guitar players, will take place April 12-13 for the first time at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. All profits from the Festival will benefit The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility founded by Clapton for chemically dependent persons.

Since its inception, Clapton’s vision for the Crossroads Guitar Festival has been to create an event where his friends and contemporaries can have fun and perform together for the benefit of a good cause. This year’s Festival will feature two-nights of musical performances with once-in-a-lifetime guitar collaborations. Known as pioneers in their field, the roster of artists spans old and new. The audience can expect unrivaled entertainment, brilliant guitar work, surprise guests and impromptu jams that are the hallmark of these performers.

The first Crossroads Guitar Festival, in June 2004 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, was an unprecedented collection of guitar icons from blues, rock and contemporary music. The sold-out show was chronicled in a 2-disc DVD that has since gone on to become one of the world’s top-selling music DVD’s. The Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 and 2010 were the second and third such concerts by Clapton and were staged at Toyota Park in Chicago. Both Festival were filmed for DVDs and met similar acclaim and achieved multi-platinum status. This will be the Festival’s first-ever visit to New York and Madison Square Garden.

“The Crossroads Festival is the realization of a dream for me, to gather a group of amazingly talented musicians to perform on one stage,” said Clapton. “The Crossroads performers are all musicians I admire and respect.”

Tickets for the Crossroads Guitar Festival Presented by Chase will be offered as an advance sale to Chase customers beginning Monday, Nov. 26 at 12 p.m. EST via www.ticketmaster.com through Thursday, Nov. 29 at 10 p.m. General Public On-Sale will begin Friday, Nov. 30 at 12 p.m. EST.

For more information go to www.ericclapton.com or www.crossroadsguitarfestival.com.